Wardruna: Skald album review

Wardruna offer a solo summoning from the outskirts of time with Skald

Continuing his dramatic sonic evolution, Wardruna founder Einar Selvik returns with a spectral collection of solo pieces and Wardruna songs that he’s performed solo over the years, recorded live in a studio.

Skald is essentially a solo album, with Einar performing the tracks accompanied by little more than the coarse thrum of a lyre or the mournful pluck of a harp.

Stripped down, skaldic versions of Fehu and closer Helvegen (from 2013’s Runaljod – Yggdrasil), dovetail perfectly into the bleak intimacy of Voluspá and the title track.

The ineffable beauty of these compositions lies in their potent and unguarded sense of solitude; performed with ancient instruments and sung in the old Norse tongue, you can practically hear the crackle of a fire or the whistle of an icy gale crossing the water.

Haunting and immersive, sometimes the heaviest sounds are the ones between the notes.

For Fans Of: Sólstafir, Tenhi, Harvestman

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